Celebrating 20 years of acne. My story...
Teenage acne first appeared at 15. Went on Dianetteat 18 which cleared it up until I was 23, when it exploded again. Couple of years of trying every topical/skin care product under the sun that did nothing, I eventually went on Oxytetracycline which cleared it up within 6 weeks. This worked beautifully until I hit 30, when it all came back again. Expect this time it wasnt the chin/jawline acne so much but all around my nose, forehead and cheeks. Im now 35, still suffering and utterly at the end of my tether. In the last 5 years Ive tried other antibiotics (didnt work), topicals (all make it worse), accutane (5 months of hell that did nothing), elimination diets, no dairy, no sugar, no gluten (no difference). Have also tried changing make up, face products, you name it, nothing works. The Oxytetracyline still works to a certain extend (it gets worse when I stop) but not like it used to work. I have constant spots every day. I have been on anti depressants the last couple of years and am absolutely exhausted from dealing with this every day. Ive had CBT therapy which didnt help. It is destroying my life, almost destroyed my marriage, preventing me from having a baby (for fear of coming off meds and pregnancy). Just dont know what to do anymore. Are there any other 30+ women still dealing with this cr*p?
On 4/3/2019 at 10:12 AM, MrsLT said:Celebrating 20 years of acne. My story...
Teenage acne first appeared at 15. Went on Dianetteat 18 which cleared it up until I was 23, when it exploded again. Couple of years of trying every topical/skin care product under the sun that did nothing, I eventually went on Oxytetracycline which cleared it up within 6 weeks. This worked beautifully until I hit 30, when it all came back again. Expect this time it wasnt the chin/jawline acne so much but all around my nose, forehead and cheeks. Im now 35, still suffering and utterly at the end of my tether. In the last 5 years Ive tried other antibiotics (didnt work), topicals (all make it worse), accutane (5 months of hell that did nothing), elimination diets, no dairy, no sugar, no gluten (no difference). Have also tried changing make up, face products, you name it, nothing works. The Oxytetracyline still works to a certain extend (it gets worse when I stop) but not like it used to work. I have constant spots every day. I have been on anti depressants the last couple of years and am absolutely exhausted from dealing with this every day. Ive had CBT therapy which didnt help. It is destroying my life, almost destroyed my marriage, preventing me from having a baby (for fear of coming off meds and pregnancy). Just dont know what to do anymore. Are there any other 30+ women still dealing with this cr*p?
Hi! Yes. I'm 44 and dealing with this. I have had a fairly clear face my entire life until about 7 months ago. I had cyst like acne and found out it was caused by an overabundance of demodex mites. It turns out that many cases of acne are caused by these mites. I would check into it if I were you. Unless you control the population, no acne products will work. I have gotten them somewhat under control and am dealing with post inflammatory hyperpigmentation right now.
12 hours ago, MrsLT said:How did you treat it? I tried an anti fungal cream for a few weeks but that did nothing.
I took oral ivermectin for 6 weeks and oral metronidazole for 4. This helped thin the mite problem and use soolantra daily. For the fungus issue I alternate between ketoconazole cream and lotrimin ultra and use oat groat masks which kill fungus and mites.
11 minutes ago, KarenM said:I took oral ivermectin for 6 weeks and oral metronidazole for 4. This helped thin the mite problem and use soolantra daily. For the fungus issue I alternate between ketoconazole cream and lotrimin ultra and use oat groat masks which kill fungus and mites.
Is any of that available without prescription? My Dr has just about given up on me and thinks Im mad for asking for things Ive read about online.
5 hours ago, MrsLT said:Is any of that available without prescription? My Dr has just about given up on me and thinks Im mad for asking for things Ive read about online.
Unfortunately, no. You can make your own ivermectin face cream (aka soolantra) with horse paste and cetaphil face lotion. If it is mites, you'll see a die off and results in 3 months. They have a long life cycle so you have to kill them off then the new ones hatch then you kill them with the cream. 3 months...